Spermatophytes (seed plants): Gymnosperms (non-flowering plants): Conifers: Cupressales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Taxodium distichum
FAMILY
Cupressaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Learn more about Bald Cypress from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Taxodium distichum
FAMILY
Cupressaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Taxodium distichum
INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America
Taxodium distichum var. distichum
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 017-01-001:
Taxodium distichum FAMILY Taxodiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Taxodium distichum
COMMON NAME:
Bald Cypress
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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Trees You Want to Know (Peattie, 1934); illustration by F.A. Michaux dcp34_p14
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Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905) mtna_i_096
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_tadi2_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / US Forest Service pnd_tadi2_008_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / US Forest Service pnd_tadi2_009_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm0402d_23
February Greenville County SC
Furman University
Knees are more narrowly conical & sharp-pointed than knees of pond cypress, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
COMPARE
conifers (not including Pines)
)
JK Marlow jkm0402d_32
February Greenville County SC
Furman University
Bark brown, fibrous or shreddy on young trunks, thickening with age, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
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JK Marlow jkm090221_003
February Richland County SC
Congaree National Park
Pollen cones produced in elongated, drooping catkins 3-5" long, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
Mark A. Musselman mam_cypress062906
June Dorchester County SC
Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest
)
Mark A. Musselman mam_youngoldcypres062906
June Dorchester County SC
Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm140816_668
August Jackson County NC
High Hampton Inn
)
Mark A. Musselman mam_knee081309a
August Dorchester County SC
Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest
Knees to 2m tall, usually narrowly conical, w thinner bark over reddish tip, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
)
Paul Thompson psttaxodium_distichum
September?
Leaves in two ranks on deciduous branchlets. — Clemson Extension
)
Mark A. Musselman mam_1000yrtree111606f
November Dorchester County SC
Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest
Thousand-year-old tree at Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest
)
JK Marlow s071108_f
November Pickens County SC
SC Botanical Garden
Leaves are linear, flat, and 2-ranked, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmtdistichum_biedler
Month Unknown SC
The deciduous side twigs mostly featherlike, with flat spreading needles, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
COMPARE
leaves of Taxodium species
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmtdistichum_lakmarion1
Month Unknown SC
Lake Marion
Mature seed cones nearly round, 3/4-1" in diameter, opening at maturity, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmtdistichum_lakmarion4
Month Unknown SC
Lake Marion
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmtdistichum_oldg
Month Unknown
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Taxodium distichum
FAMILY
Cupressaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Taxodium distichum
FAMILY
Cupressaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Taxodium distichum
INCLUDED WITHIN
Flora of North America
Taxodium distichum var. distichum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 017-01-001:
Taxodium distichum
FAMILY
Taxodiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Taxodium distichum
1488
Tree
Perennial
Monoecious
Habitat: brownwater and blackwater swamps, usually in riverine situations, depressions in bottomland forests, lake margins, river banks, rarely in wooded seeps, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Coastal Plain (rare in Piedmont)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Deciduous conifer
Alternate
"FLOWER":
Spring
Unisexual
FRUIT:
Fall
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p051
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p317
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p288
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p393
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p437
- Identifying Trees: An All-Season Guide to Eastern North America (Williams, 2007) p152
- Landscaping with Native Trees (Sternberg & Wilson, 1995) p239
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p123
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p041
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p120
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p348
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
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